Sam's Song
by Ocarina Rune Scholar
Summary: Perhaps I should've played up Sam's part a bit...oh, well, I'm not going to change it unless someone asks me to. Based in Frodo's nightmares after the Quest.


Note: The first part isn't _supposed_ to make sense. Dreams rarely, if ever, do.

"Today is my eleventy-first birthday!" cried Bilbo. Frodo smiled as the crowd cheered.

"To my dear nephew, Frodo, goes my ring," continued the old hobbit. He tossed the Ring into the air. Frodo reached for it eagerly…then recoiled in terror as it began to grow.

The Ring, now large as a cart-house, fell heavily onto the lawn, but the lawn had become a field of sharp rocks, and the warm, clear air had turned to a heavy, dark fume. The sun was cloaked with forbidding black clouds.

Frodo realized, with a sickening twist of his heart, that he was in Mordor. The Ring glittered malevolently in the darkness.

"The Ring must be destroyed!" called the familiar voice of Legolas. Frodo looked around, but no one was in sight. Then he remembered that he had left everyone behind. The Fellowship was broken, and he was alone in Mordor.

_Morënorë_ – the Black Land. The rancid odor of unclean orcs nearly choked the hobbit. He stumbled towards the Ring, knowing in his heart that he had to carry it.

It wasn't nearly so large as he had thought; in fact, by the time he reached it, it had shrunk to its normal size. He picked it up easily and clasped it to his chest. For a moment, all was quiet.

Suddenly, the red Eye blazed before his eyes. The Ring blazed in response, burning like hellfire against his chest. With a gasp of pain, he dropped the Ring, only to find that it had slipped onto his finger, still burning red-hot.

"Cast it into the fire!" screamed Elrond in his ear. Frantically, he tried to take off the Ring, but it had fused to his skin.

"Sam! Sam!"

It took a moment for him to realize who was shrieking in that awful, despairing voice.

"Sam! Oh, Sam, help me!"

_He_ was.

The Eye was drawing closer. Tongues of flame licked hungrily at the defenseless hobbit. He shied away, shielding the Ring protectively, knowing that all was lost if Sauron took it…

A brilliant light flashed before his eyes. He fell to the ground, fighting the overwhelming pain of the Ring as it blazed on his finger. Ever-closer came the Eye, enveloping him in flame.

"Sam!" Though he didn't know how, he was sure that Sam could help him. "Oh, Sam!"

As the terrible fires consumed him, a voice, soft, gentle, and hauntingly familiar, echoed emptily in the shadowed realm.

_You need not fear the darkness_

_I'll chase the night away_

_Sleep peacefully – I'll hold you close_

_Until the break of day_

The song seemed to infuriate the Dark Lord. With renewed fury, the flames roared around Frodo, but their heat was lessened.

Again the voice rang out, stronger this time. With an awful shriek, the Eye disappeared.

_You've carried out your mission_

_And hope is born anew_

_What you have given to the world_

_I'll now return to you_

Frodo awoke, panting, sweating, and shaking badly. It took a minute before his muddled senses told him where he was: in his own room, cradled in the strong arms of Samwise Gamgee.

"Sam!" he gasped, trying to catch his breath. "Did you…did you…hear me?" He was dimly aware that he was making very little sense, but he continued, "Did you…hear me…calling?"

"Yes, Mr. Frodo," replied the blessedly familiar voice. "Hush now, master dear. Your Sam's here."

A cool hand rested lightly on his forehead. Infinitely relieved, Frodo nestled against Sam like a small hobbit-child in his mother's arms.

"The Ring…" He felt for it with his other hand, then remembered that Gollum had bitten it – and the finger – off. His whole hand burned feverishly.

"Don't worry about the Ring, master." Sam clasped Frodo's hand gently; his fingers were wonderfully cool. "You destroyed it. Now we have nothing to fear."

It was becoming clearer…yes, he _had_ destroyed the ring, or, rather, Gollum had. In any case, it was gone forever. He was free of it at last.

"The…song…" he murmured weakly, trying to place it in his mind. "Whose…?"

"Yours." Sam held him closer. "I wrote it for you, master."

"Oh, Sam…" Frodo closed his eyes. "It's lovely. Is there any more?"

As a dreamless sleep claimed him, the last stanza of Sam's song flowed over him like a soft caress. The last of his fears vanished, and he sank into sweet oblivion.

_Abandon all your worries_

_And close your weary eyes_

_Because of you, the day will come_

_For you the sun will rise_

© ORS 2002


End file.
